


Savior

by BuckyAndDanno



Series: Evan Buckley/Jay Halstead Fics [6]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Feelings, Happy Ending, Hope Wins Out, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, M/M, Post-Lawsuit (9-1-1 TV), Substance Abuse, The Kindness of Humanity, Upset Evan "Buck" Buckley, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27246130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckyAndDanno/pseuds/BuckyAndDanno
Summary: During the lawsuit, Evan Buckley hit rock bottom. One person, nothing more than a stranger, saved him. Through that fledgling friendship, he gains everything he never thought he could have. Post-lawsuit and post 3x16 “What Next?”
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Station 118, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Will Halstead, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Jay Halstead
Series: Evan Buckley/Jay Halstead Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929322
Comments: 10
Kudos: 194





	Savior

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is another little one shot that hit me while trying to get to sleep. My muse, she keeps me awake!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own 9-1-1, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire or Chicago Med. I also don’t own the italicised line from ‘Do You Hear The People Sing (Reprise)’ from Les Miserables, at the end of the fic.
> 
> Trigger warnings for mentions of depression and substance abuse. If you are struggling, please talk to a friend, family member or trained professional, and remember – you are not alone.

The wedding reception is in full swing. Various people mill about, eating and dancing and chatting; celebrating life. To anyone who was familiar with the city of Chicago and its first responders, they would recognise a lot of the people in attendance as firefighters, cops or medical staff.

As the last dregs of the meal draws to a close, the tinkling of a glass from the front draws everyone’s attentions.

A man with russet hair and a broad smile stands, black tuxedo fitted with a silver tie marking him as one of the best men.

“I could stand here and talk about how my brother deserves the best. I could joke and tell tales of when he was a kid. I could tell you all how much I look up to him. But I think most of you all know these things, and he would kill me for telling you the rest.”

“And know where to hide the body!” A gruff voice guffaws.

“That too.” The man chuckles. “So I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m gonna talk about the day I met the best person to grace his life; his new husband. As first responders, we know what it’s like to go through dark times, to struggle with so much, and to fight to get to the end of it. We know how tough things can get. But if there’s one thing that the past few years have taught me, it’s that the kindness of the human spirit will always win out.”

_Evan Buckley was alone._

_From the moment those elevator doors had slid shut, the glares of those he’d once called family burning deep into his soul, he knew he’d lost._

_Even if he won the case, even if he got back, they’d never forgive him._

_He’d screwed everything up, just like he always did._

_In a desperate bid to not go back to an empty apartment, he’d taken himself to some dive bar on the outskirts of town, drinking himself into a stupor. It had worked, for a short time, but then the memories and the guilt and the anguish had simply hit him full force once more, leaving him curled up in a grimy bathroom and just wishing with everything that he had that someone cared._

_That he wasn’t alone._

_Of course, no-one came._

_Until the sixth night, that is, when – after dropping the suit and trying yet failing to apologise – he found himself outside the bar instead of inside it, some ill-gotten pills of no name cupped in the palm of his hand._

_His entire body is shaking, half of him remembering, needing, that familiar dull numbness, and the other half begging him to see reason; to not slip back into bad habits._

_He feels so completely torn, standing there, unable to move a muscle._

_Then a voice, like a guardian angel, asks those three words he’d been begging someone to say to him for weeks._

_“Are you okay?”_

_Slowly, he turns, facing a man with russet hair and a deep filled beard, concerned eyes latched onto Evan with compassion and sincerity._

_Evan almost breaks down there and then, and maybe it’s the deliberateness of the man’s words, the care filling every syllable, but he manages to push out one long unspoken word._

_“No.”_

_The man introduces himself as Will, says that he’s a doctor, that he’s more than happy to listen, to keep him company, to help. All he asks is that Evan dump the pills._

_Slowly, he lets them fall into a nearby trash can, and almost immediately is pulled away by a hand on his shoulder, Will holding him in a soft embrace._

_“Let’s get you somewhere warm, yeah?”_

_Evan can only nod, mutely._

_They hole up in a 24 hour diner, mugs of steaming coffee in their hands, and Evan finds the whole story – everything and anything at all – spilling from his lips. Will barely says a word, just nodding and murmuring ascent, just listening, and Evan isn’t sure if he can be any more grateful._

_Then, when the words have run dry and tears are staining his cheeks, Will reaches a hand out, takes Evan’s, and squeezes softly._

_“You’re not alone.”_

_He doesn’t apologise for the sobs that spring forth from him then, for the way his shaking voice thanks this practical stranger for being there for him more than his so called family has. He doesn’t argue when Will takes him to the clinic he works at, booking him into an out patient substance resource group and mental health wellness appointments._

_He gets better, and Will talks things through with him every day, without remiss._

_They become stalwart friends, and even when Evan does go back to work, when he makes amends with the 118 and everything starts going back to normal, he still maintains regular contact with the man who saved him from himself._

_Abby comes back, if only briefly, and the emotional wellspring that comes forth within him is enough to set him back months, if not for the steady hand of Will Halstead guiding him through it all._

_But it’s not until thanksgiving when the puzzle pieces that make up Evan’s happiness, his future, fall into place._

_Kelly asks him to come to Chicago, and Evan is more than happy to oblige. Things only get better when Will says that he’s visiting family there too, and that they should travel together._

_So they do, and while the first day or two are spent with their respective families, they make plans to meet up on the third day with their respective brothers._

_Only things have never gone to plan where Evan is concerned, and though he later looks back on the moments and wonders how things might have turned out differently were he not so clumsy or such a danger magnet, he is immensely thankful that everything happened as it did._

_He’s busy cutting up the remnants of the turkey to make sandwiches. They’re meeting Will and his brother at a park on the outskirts of the city with a thanksgiving picnic before heading out to see some of Chicago’s nightlife. Then there’s a crash from outside, a voice yelling, and his hand slips. The knife clatters off the countertop, splitting the leg of his pants. Almost immediately the blue denim fabric becomes wet and stained, and Evan curses, shouting for his brother._

_From there it all becomes like a video on fast-forward._

_He’s bundled into Kelly’s car and driven to med._

_He’s taken into a bay, the bleeding staunched and an IV set up._

_The cut is assessed and stitched up, his leg bandaged and raised._

_He’s laying back on the bed, cursing himself, hand on his forehead in both despair and disbelief._

_Then the partition opens, and time slows._

_“Evan?”_

_“Kelly?”_

_“Jay?”_

_Evan blinks over at the two newcomers, watching as Will looks between the darker haired man beside him (assumedly the brother) and Kelly in confusion, watching Kelly and the newcomer look between each other and their respective brothers, also in confusion._

_“Huh?” Having refused any sort of pain meds, the throb of his leg is making him a little fuzzy headed._

_“You okay?” Will asks, moving immediately to his side._

_“’m fine.” Evan mumbles, before looking over at the dark haired man. “Th’t y’r br’ther?”_

_Will nods, turning back for a brief moment. “Jay Halstead. Older brother and pain in the ass. Though it seems your brother already knows him?”_

_Evan looks over at Kelly, then at Jay. “Hmm, sm’ll w’rld.”_

_“Indeed it is.”_

“He has been through so much, and is the most courageous, generous, wonderful person I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Evan…” Will Halstead turns now to the man in question, seated beside him, and grins. “Welcome to the family, brother.”

Evan Halstead (nee Buckley-Severide) is holding back tears as he looks to Will, trembling smile on his lips, and nods. Then he’s standing himself, squeezing the other man’s shoulder. “I’m not ashamed to say that this man saved my life, and with it he gave me the future I thought I’d never have. Thank you,” he turns to his other side, slipping an arm around his now husband, Jay Halstead, “both of you, for accepting me wholly and completely, scars and all.”

“Everyone has scars,” Jay smiles, “It’s how you use them that counts.”

“Pretty much the Halstead family motto.” Will grins.

As the rest of the wedding party and guests cheer to the new family, raising their glasses, Evan realises he’s never quite felt as at home as he does in that moment, and he knows that – no matter what – the sun will always shine again.

_Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise._


End file.
